When ESDP confronts ENP: security sector reform as a bridge in the EU���s foreign policy

The European Neighbourhood Policy���s birth has taken place in parallel with the renewed momentum of the European Security and Defence Policy, which has launched 14 operations since 2003. Both policies��� instruments have converged in the neighbouring area covered by ENP: Georgia, in the East and the Palestinian Territories in the South. In both cases, the Security Sector Reform strategies have been the main focus for ESDP and an important objective for ENP. In this paper, two objectives are pursued: first, to assess the EU���s involvement in both cases in SSR terms; and second, to analyse whether the convergence of ESDP operations with a broader EU neighbourhood policy implies that the former has become an instrument for the a EU external action.

Learning the ropes and embracing the rules: CFSP institutions as arenas for learning and strategic socialisation

The aim of this article is to analyse those situations in which learning and socialisation take place within the context of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), in particular, at the level of experts in the Council Working Groups. Learning can explain the institutional development of CFSP and changes in the foreign policies of the Member States. Some scope conditions for learning and channels of institutionalisation are identified. Socialisation, resulting from learning within a group, is perceived as a strategic action by reflective actors. National diplomats, once they arrive in Brussels, learn the new code of conduct of their Working Groups. They are embedded in two environments and faced with two logics: the European one in the Council and the national one in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The empirical evidence supports the argument that neither rational nor sociological approaches alone can account for these processes.

EU foreign policy towards Georgia: just for energy?

The paper analyses how the EU foreign policy towards Georgia changed after the Rose Revolution, reaching greater levels of involvement and assistance. It is argued that the pro-western and reformist new government in Georgia triggered a new orientation in the EU foreign policy towards the country based on a logic of appropriateness, that is EU��s values, in addition to energy interests. Comparative analysis in the Southern-Caucasus and other Eastern-European countries shows how reformist and pro-EU governments receive more EU support and assistance. This does not mean that material interest do not play an important role. However, the EU seems to be coherent with its values when regarding the European neighbourhood.

Nuclear Weapons as Symbols. The Role of Norms in Nuclear Policy Making

Throughout history, nuclear weapons have been considered to be the ultimate weapons. This understanding largely detached them from the portfolio of conventional military means and assigned them a symbolic meaning that influenced the identity and norms creation of nations. In most countries today, the development of nuclear weapons is considered morally prohibitive, incompatible with a country���s identity and international outlook. In some states, however, these negative norms are overridden by a positive set of norms, causing nuclear weapons to become either symbols of invulnerability to perceived threats or the regalia of major power status. Main purpose of this paper is to explore on the conditions that cause most states to develop a moral aversion to nuclear weapons, yet effectively lead to their glorification in others. Many studies on the normative understanding of nuclear weapons consider the existence of a negative normative predisposition, often referred to as ���nuclear taboo���, as a major factor in preventing their acquisition and use. Other studies acknowledge the existence of a nuclear taboo inhibiting the use of nuclear weapons, but point to the existence of the opposing effect of norms, frequently referred to as the ���nuclear myth���, when it comes to the acquisition of nuclear weapons. This myth emerges when certain symbolic meanings are attached to nuclear weapons, such as a state���s identity, self-image, and its desired position in the international system. With 180 odd countries in the world abstaining from the acquisition of nuclear weapons and 8 countries in possession of them (with two further countries assumed to have pursued their acquisition), one might consider the dominance of the nuclear taboo over the nuclear myth to be the rule. The core question is thus why and how this relationship reversed in the case of defectors.

Cumbre de Viena: energ��a, polarizaci��n y b��squeda de liderazgos

La IV Cumbre Uni��n Europea ��� Am��rica Latina y el Caribe (UE-ALC), celebrada en Viena los d��as 11, 12 y 13 de mayo, estuvo marcada por una creciente polarizaci��n interna latinoamericana, por los problemas europeos para definir un liderazgo sobre el futuro del proyecto de integraci��n y por la crisis global de energ��a.

The Role of the European Union in the Processes to Ban Cluster Munitions

At the end of 2008 the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) that outlawed almost all types of cluster munitions was signed. It was the product of the so-called Oslo process, which had been set up two years earlier as a reaction to the failure to add a new protocol banning cluster munitions to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). The position of the EU in these two processes was ambivalent: on the one hand it belonged to the strongest proponents for a new protocol within the CCW, but on the other hand the member states were in general not able to act jointly in the Oslo Process. According to this working paper especially the aspect of national security and the related relationship to the United States influenced the stances of many member states and complicated the formation of a common European position. There were common normative values of the EU detected, which played a role in the CCW, but they were only secondary to other interests of the member states.

La Capacidad actual de Espa��a para liderar la posici��n europea hacia Cuba

Aquest treball t�� per objecte analitzar quina ��s la capacitat actual del govern espanyol per liderar les pol��tiques europees respecte a Cuba. El per��ode escollit per a la realitzaci�� d'aquest examen s'inicia l'any 2004, moment en qu�� el PSOE es va fer amb la vict��ria en les eleccions generals i en qu�� va anunciar un canvi de rumb en l'acci�� exterior espanyola respecte de la postura promoguda pel PP en els mandats anteriors, i es perllonga fins al moment actual. El balan�� dels ��xits i fracassos obtinguts pel govern socialista fins ara, mostra una creixent p��rdua d'influ��ncia d'Espanya, davant etapes anteriors, si tradicional paper d'interlocutor avantatjat de la UE pel que fa a Cuba. la concurr��ncia de factors com l'adhesi�� dels PECO a la UE, la capacitat de la Havana per procurar nous aliats i socis estrat��gics o les innovacions introdu��des pel tractat de Lisboa en mat��ria d'acci�� exterior, ha augmentat significativament les dificultats d'Espanya per "europe��tzar" els interessos de la seva política exterior pel que fa a l'Illa

L���impacte de les institucions internacionals sobre la Uni�� Europea: presa de decisions, integraci�� i europe��tzaci��

Projecte de recerca elaborat a partir d���una estada a la Center for European Integration de la Freie Universit��t Berlin, Alemania, entre 2007 i 2009. El tema central del projecte consisteix en la descripci�� matem��tica de processos espai-temporals mitjan��ant la teoria dels Continuous-Time Random Walks. L'aportaci�� m��s significativa del nostre treball en aquest camp consisteix en considerar per primera vegada la interacci�� entre diversos processos actuant de manera acoblada, ja que fins ara els models existents es limitaven a l'estudi de processos individuals o independents. Aquesta idea fa possible, per exemple, plantejar un sistema de transport en l'espai i a la vegada un proc��s de reacci�� (una reacci�� qu��mica, per exemple), i estudiar estad��sticament com cada un pot alterar el comportament de l'altre. Aix�� suposa un salt qualitatiu important en la descripci�� de processos de reacci��-dispersi��, ja que els nostres models permeten incorporar patrons de dispersi�� i comportaments temporals (cicles de vida) for��a realistes en comparaci�� amb els models convencionals. Per tal de completar aquest treball te��ric ha estat necessari tamb�� desenvolupar algunes eines num��riques (models de xarxa) per facilitar la implementaci�� dels models. En la vessant pr��ctica, hem aplicat aquestes idees al cas de la din��mica entre virus i el sistema immunol��gic que t�� lloc quan es produeix una infecci�� a l'organisme. Diferents estudis experimentals portats a terme els ��ltims anys mostren com la resposta immunol��gica dels organismes superiors presenta una din��mica temporal for��a complexa (per exemple, en el cas de la resposta programada). Per aquest motiu, les nostres t��cniques matem��tiques s��n d'especial utilitat per a l'an��lisi d'aquests sistemes. Finalment, altres possibles aplicacions dels models, com ara l'estudi d'invasions biol��giques, tamb�� han estat considerades.

China en ��frica : Aproximaci��n a unas relaciones contovertidas

Pr��cticum sobre la política exterior de la Rep��blica Popular de China en ��frica.

La Sociedad Geogr��fica de Madrid y el colonialismo espa��ol en Marruecos (1876-1956)

L���objectiu central de l���article ��s analitzar l���actitud que es manifest�� a la Sociedad Geogr��fica de Madrid en relaci�� amb l���acci�� colonial espanyola al Marroc, des del 1876 ���any de creaci�� de la Societat��� fins al 1956 ���independ��ncia del Marroc i conseg��ent finalitzaci�� del protectorat espanyol���. Aix�� mateix, s���examinen les actuacions que dugu�� a terme per impulsar l���esmentat proc��s, els mecanismes que utilitz�� per influir en la política exterior i en la societat espanyoles i les repercussions de la seva activitat

The European Union in North Korea: Current Realities and Paths for Future Engagement ��� A Qualitative and Quantitative Study

Malgrat la rellev��ncia estrat��gica i el paper desestabilitzador de Corea del Nord a la regi�� econ��micament m��s din��mica del m��n, la UE no compta amb cap estrat��gia clara per involucrar-se amb aquest pa��s. Combinant t��cniques d���an��lisi qualitatives i quantitatives, aquest treball pret��n descobrir possibles contradiccions internes que impedeixin la definici�� d'una política exterior europea coherent i efectiva amb respecte a Corea del Nord, aix�� com discrep��ncies entre les percepcions d���actors interns de la UE i les d���actors externs. S'han detectat importants difer��ncies d���expectatives i mancances en termes de coher��ncia, tant entre les visions expressades pels actors interns com entre les opinions d���aquests actors i les dels futurs l��ders sudcoreans enquestats ��� difer��ncies que fins i tot afecten la promoci�� dels drets humans

EU ���actorness��� in International Relations: The Non-Proliferation Policy of the EU in the Southern Mediterranean

El punt de partida d'aquesta investigaci�� ��s una ret��rica molt utilitzada que la UE ��s un actor global. En vista d'aix��, la no proliferaci�� de la política comunit��ria al sud de la Mediterr��nia s'examina. L'estudi es realitza sobre la base de la conceptualitzaci�� de la UE "actorness" ia trav��s d'alguns criteris (context extern, l'evoluci�� de l'aparell de política exterior de la UE, la Uni�� Europea l'auto-presentaci�� i la percepci�� de tercers, la consist��ncia i la disponibilitat d'instruments de política i accions concretes) que involucren tant factors ideacionals i materials, d'acord amb el "pluralisme metodol��gic". Aquest marc conceptual va ajudar a avaluar la no proliferaci�� de la política comunit��ria en aquesta regi�� en particular on la UE t�� interessos i bones raons per actuar. Cada un dels criteris de manifest els avantatges i desavantatges de la UE "actorness" en aquest camp seleccionat i la caixa. Aquest document sost�� que la no proliferaci�� "actorness" de la UE a la regi�� del sud de la Mediterr��nia ha estat limitat a causa d'una varietat de raons.